


a time to embrace

by ThreadSketchier



Series: Glimpses [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Family Bonding, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Inconvenient truths, unapologetic good outcomes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-23 20:51:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18709750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThreadSketchier/pseuds/ThreadSketchier
Summary: An immediate continuation of "a time to dance," wherein I give zero craps about all this messy Skywalker family business being handled way too nicely.  We all know it wouldn't go this well.  Just let me squish my faves together and give them a break this time.





	a time to embrace

**Author's Note:**

> Happy May the Fourth, y'all.

A couple of hours later Luke was settled into a small recovery suite aboard the  _ Mercy _ , the fleet’s secondary medical frigate.  The  _ Redemption’s  _ destruction had left a bacta shortage; while Luke’s injuries could be treated without it, that meant a longer downtime, and  _ that _ meant it’d be a task to keep him barve-tied to his bed until he was actually healed.   _ We’ll see about that Jedi patience nerfshit now _ , Han thought.

Being away from the insulation of the forest moon meant the brass was eager to get them debriefed, but Leia put her foot down about allowing them a bit more time to just decompress.  Han was glad and relieved to see her putting herself before duty for once.

Luke should have been sleeping his ordeal off, but the three of them were aware that being in each other’s company was what they  _ really _ wanted.  At least he was finally horizontal.

“Why’d you look so afraid there when Furball sniffed you out?” Han asked.

Hesitating, Luke gazed at Leia for a minute, his eyes seeming to ask her permission before he would speak.  She simply stroked her hand through his hair, brushing it back from his brow. He swallowed and replied softly, “I laid my father’s remains to rest.”

A thick silence fell between them.  Han was at a loss – how did the kid find it within himself to care about a monster who’d tried to murder all of them numerous times, who put him in carbonite and sold him off to Jabba, who left Leia scarred for the rest of her life, who’d  _ hacked off his own son’s hand? _  But right now the homicidal tin can from hell was dead and Luke was obviously mourning him, and trying to convince him otherwise wasn’t going to help.

Leia’s expression was pained, torn between grief for her brother and revulsion.  It just wasn’t fair to either of them.

“He came back,” Luke said gravely.  “He remembered who he was in the end.  He’s the reason I’m still alive.”

And from there the whole story poured out: how the Emperor had gloated and taunted him over the trap he’d laid for the Alliance, how he and Vader had fought each other, reluctantly at first and then in one last desperate and brutal volley when Luke had sensed Leia’s pain and accidentally revealed the identity of his twin, and been pressed too far.  How close he’d come to the edge of darkness and nearly lost himself. How the Emperor  _ really _ didn’t take no for an answer.  How he’d nearly died in a barrage of dark power he hadn’t known the despot was capable of, until Vader found and listened to the one remaining molecule of a conscience he had left.

By the time Luke was finished his voice was thin and his eyes were heavy.  “Leia…he told me to tell you…” He floundered, searching for a way to express himself, and Leia was visibly steeling herself, probably expecting an apology from a man she still loathed and wanted no such thing from.

Surprisingly, Luke looked self-conscious, not wanting to meet her glare.  “Just that…I was right.”

Han’s eyebrows arched.  “…Kind of a bold thing to say, kid.”

Luke ran a hand down his face, letting out a wheezy little laugh.  “It does sound like that, doesn’t it?” A tear trickled down his cheek, and his breathing grew shaky with emotion.  “I’m sorry, Leia.”

As anguished as she was, Leia shook her head slowly and laid herself down onto the edge of Luke’s bed to pull him close and hold him, and his arms wrapped around her in return.  Han stretched his arm over both of them and pressed his lips into Leia’s hair. No, this wasn’t the time for judgment or distance. Vader wasn’t going to keep their family apart from beyond the grave.

They lingered in each other’s embrace for a while, until Luke whispered, “I saw him there at the end.  At the edge of the village, in the trees. Father’s spirit was standing next to Ben and Yoda, and they were all happy.  He looked so different, so much younger. The way he once was. He’s free now.”

Han didn’t know what to say about that either.  He couldn’t really deny the Force anymore – Luke had done too much, come too far, for him to chalk it up to trickery and delusion.  But this was something he’d never be able to verify with his own eyes. Was it just wishful thinking? Some figment of his imagination to give him closure?  And if it was, why should he disparage it? It’d be like kicking a pup.

But the idea that Vader wasn’t  _ completely _ dead, that he could still keep existing in one form or another – and a kriffing ghost, of all things – was far more unnerving than comforting.  If this was real, could he watch them right now? What gave him the right to do that, after everything he’d done to them?

_ Buzz off, Vader _ , Han thought sourly,  _ and don’t show your face, either of them, here again if you know better now.  You gave up these kids when you turned your back on doing good. _

Luke drifted off to sleep shortly afterwards, worn out from his confessions.  Leaning back against the bulkhead from the crate he’d swiped as a makeshift seat, Han gathered Leia into his lap and held her, both of their minds too preoccupied to doze off but their fatigue and need for respite keeping them in contented silence.

*

“Alright, look, they don’t need to know the particulars.  I’m just gonna say Luke reported straight to me with this business about Vader and him sensing each other.”

“They’re going to ask why surrender was considered a better alternative to diversion,” Leia pointed out.

“I told them I came alone, but they already knew our shuttle had to be carrying a team,” Luke interjected.  “The  _ Executor _ had your voice on record, and we don’t exactly sound the same,” he added dryly.  “There wasn’t any point in a diversion by then, and if they want to argue about handing a valuable target over to the enemy and doubling the risk by increasing my potential to turn to the Dark Side, I was betting against myself dying along with the Emperor and my father when you succeeded in getting the Death Star blown.”

Both Han and Leia stared at him for half a minute.  “Good strategy, but could you maybe not let us in on that?” Han deadpanned.

Luke had the decency to look sheepish.  “The bigger issue is telling them about my father,” he continued.

“Who says you have to tell them?  It’s none of their business.”

“This won’t make sense to them if I don’t – ”

“Sure it can!” Han protested.  “You’re a Jedi, they wanted you on their side.  They turned on each other because they’re crazy evil assholes and you got out.  End of story.”

“ _ Han _ .”

“Trust me, kid, honesty doesn’t get you everywhere.  You’re gonna make this harder on yourself.”

A genuine, righteous anger started to twist Luke’s face.  “Han, it’s not just a matter of honesty, I’m  _ proud _ of him.  He did something no one thought possible – Ben and Yoda wanted me to solve the problem by killing him.  And what was that going to get us? He’d be dead, and then so would I, or else I’d be at the Emperor’s side right now.  He was my  _ father _ , Han, and he finally chose to  _ stop _ the evil.  Anakin Skywalker was a good man once, and he found that good again one last time.  I know it’s not going to mean much to anyone else, but I think it’s a truth worth telling.”

Han shifted back from his seat at the foot of Luke’s bed and held up his hands.  “…Okay, take it easy there.” He could see Leia’s hackles were being raised and he didn’t think he’d like to be in the epicenter of a fight between these two.

But Luke’s indignation was tempered with self-conflict as he regarded Leia.  “But I know what this means for us. I know you don’t…want any part of this, Leia.  And I accept that. I didn't intend to tell them about our relationship. You don’t have to claim me as your brother in their eyes.”

Her tone was icier than the Hoth wastes.  “You’re proud of your father and ashamed of your twin,” she remarked, the blade of her words cutting all the much deeper in their softness.

Luke’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open to protest, but Leia snapped, “I know what you’re trying to say.  That you want to protect my reputation.”

“Not just that, Leia,  _ you _ .  You don’t deserve – ”

“You’re damn right I don’t,” she hissed.  “I’m more than happy to have a brother, but I never asked for Vader.  Even if I had no family of my own, even if I was a wretched orphan in the Coruscant sublevels.”  She sighed loudly and sharply and shut her eyes, reining in her fury. “But fine. If you insist on singing Vader’s praises to anyone who’ll hear, what makes you think I’d disown you for the sake of my status?”

Luke gazed back at her, shaken, and she leaned forward to grasp his face in her hands, until their noses nearly met.  “What makes you think I’d let the Empire take anything else from me?”

*

Han and Leia waited for him in the corridor while it was his turn.  When it was over Luke emerged from the briefing room red-eyed and utterly weary, and he sank into Leia’s grasp.  The medics had cleared him, but as far as Han was concerned, he needed a hell of a lot more time to recuperate, not only for his body but his mind also.  For that matter, so did Leia.

“How’d it go?” Han asked.  No one else had left the room yet; he could still give them a piece or two if things hadn’t fared well.

“Not great, of course, but not as bad as I thought,” Luke replied wryly, eyeing Han’s expression over Leia’s shoulder.  Sighing, he straightened but stayed within the comforting circle of Leia’s arms. “I’d like to think it’s because they know me well enough by now to judge me by own merits, but once upon a time my father was a Jedi, and…”  His eyes dropped. “Everyone is capable of evil,” he added softly.

“And you think we’d let you stray that far?”  Han challenged him. “If you didn’t keep yourself in check?”  He stepped forward and jabbed a finger into Luke’s shoulder. “And don’t use us as an excuse – you think we’d appreciate it from the grave or the void if you went off the deep end after we’re gone?”

“No,” Luke whispered.

“I know it’s hard right then.  But you know better. Better we all die clean than sink to the level of the goons we’re fighting.  We all bite it in the end no matter what. If you go bad on us, we’ll be waiting for you on the other side, and I don’t think you’ll like getting your ass kicked forever.”

That elicited a burst of laughter.  “I don’t doubt you would,” Luke chortled.

“Especially with her around.”

Both men looked down at Leia, who held their gazes with a knowing stare of effortless intimidation.  Luke’s laugh petered out as he sobered. “I’m sorry,” he told her seriously.

“For what?”

“For almost giving myself to the Dark Side for you.  I know it’s not what you would’ve wanted. I know it’s not worth it.  It was just…”

“Luke, I would have done the same for you.  And I don’t think I would have stopped myself.”

Swallowing hard, Luke cradled her close and rested his cheek on the crown of her head.  “And I’m sorry for the way I told you,” he murmured.

Leia frowned, not comprehending, and shifted herself to make eye contact with him again.  “What do you mean?”

“When I said you were my sister…I gave it to you as a responsibility.  That you had to carry on for me if I didn’t return. I didn’t…” Luke shook his head.  “Leia, I’m just glad to have you. I love you. You’re my sister no matter what happens or what we do.”

“ _ Oh _ , Luke.”  She hugged him tight in reassurance.  “I knew that.”

“But it’s still important.  You mean so much more to me than that.”  Fresh tears shone in his eyes, but he smiled.  “I’ll be happy to teach you if you’re ready someday, though.”

“Maybe.  I suppose I couldn’t ask for a better teacher.  Or a brother.” She tapped a finger on the tip of his nose, drawing another chuckle.

Luke bit his lower lip, self-deprecation creeping into his amusement.  “You couldn’t ask for a better teacher because I’m the only one right now,” he muttered with a note of melancholy.

Han gently pried them apart and looped an arm around each of their backs to lead them away alongside him.  “Worry about that later. And the two of you will be sick of each other before you know it. Alright, now that that’s over, I’ve got a case of Whyren’s in the  _ Falcon _ with our name on it.  Just go light on it for now, kid.”


End file.
